Currently video cameras are used for a variety of purposes, including security cameras, data collection, web cameras, and many other uses. Often, a video camera will be configured to continually capture video data without any interaction with a user. For example, some zoos include on their web sites, images from video cameras configured to capture video of one or more of their animals while the animals are in a secluded den or other area out of the normal view of visitors. This allows the visitors to observe the animals without disrupting the normal habits of these animals. In such a case, the camera is set up in a fixed or a panning mode of operation and left to display its video without any further user interaction. However, it is possible for this camera to loose its focus due to a variety of reasons, such as being bumped by the animal, vibrations from other equipment, or one or more of a wide variety of other causes. In such a case, the out of focus camera may not be recognized for a period of time, since visitors may assume that the video quality is always poor and may not alert the zoo to the problem with the camera.
Similar problems arise is other video camera configurations, such as in the case of security cameras. These cameras may also go out of focus for a wide variety of reasons, including natural causes, and in some instances due to people tampering with the device. Often, security cameras are not actively monitored, and their outputs are simply recorded for later viewing if a need arises. However, if the cameras have been tampered with, or otherwise are out of focus, the recordings may be useless for later investigations.